Just Some Dream Wedding Locations (If You're Into That Sort of Thing)

Kim and Kanye may have already celebrated their one-week wedding anniversary (where has the time gone?) but I’ve still got summer wedding fever. Obviously, we can’t all afford to splash out on a Kim-and-Kanye level event, but we can all dream about our ultimate wedding destinations.

My wedding fantasies are centered on three distinct venues: a castle, a mountain getaway, and a beachside venue. So here they are, some dream destination alternatives to Versailles and Forte di Belvedere.

Castle: If you want a wedding fit for (tabloid) royalty, you can’t just book any old castle. Nope, you go straight for the top, which can only mean one thing: Alnwick Castle. We literary buffs will recognize this grand estate from the Harry Potter films, but there’s so much more history here. There has been a castle on this site in Northumberland for 1,000 years (you read that correctly, one thousand years) and the current building is pretty much a picture-perfect, right-out-of-a-storybook wedding venue. Because I think we all secretly want to pretend to be a queen for the day. And you can’t have a fairy tale wedding without a castle, am I right?

Mountains: When I think of mountains, I think of the Alps. Maybe it’s because they were the first real mountains I saw, or because they are just that stunningly beautiful. But I’ll always have a soft spot for them. So, what better place to get married than high in the green hills, with snow-capped peaks in the distance, silhouetted by a clear sapphire blue sky? I couldn’t decide on just one spot to recommend, so here are the most beautiful wedding chapels and churches, according to myswitzerland.com. And for some more alpine inspiration, check out this couple’s destination wedding in Engleberg, Switzerland. So. Jealous.

Beach: Perhaps you want something a little more private, so you can indulge that stranded-on-a-desert-island fantasy. Well, you’re in luck. Petit St. Vincent is a Caribbean Island that houses just 22 private rental cottages. If you want to be completely alone, you can rent the entire island and indulge your shipwrecked fantasies by lounging on the white sand beaches with no one else in sight. But if you get tired of searching the shoreline for coconuts and listening to the waves lap the shore, you can visit the spa and get your energy back. Sun, sand and sea can be tiring.

All of these destinations sound amazing, but in the end it’s not the scenery around you that will make your wedding special. It’s the people you share it with (especially that one special someone). So whether it’s at a courthouse downtown or a neon-lit Vegas chapel or the church you’ve attended all your life, the only thing that matters is that you bring the love.